Adventures for Anyone: I Hope You All Know I Had the Time of My Life

I don't have much time to write this week. It's the last week of summer and I'm running around like a chicken before school starts, at which point I will have all the time in the world to blog about all the things that I learned and did over the summer. I just would like to say thank you to all the people I met along the way in my travels this summer. I may not know your names like I do Scott who drove us all around the dunes in Saugatuck, Michigan, but I do remember you all and am grateful that for whatever reason, we met.

I would like to thank the owners of the A-1 Star Inn in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada for being the nicest people I ever rented a room from. The place wasn't a five star accommodation, but we were still very happy there, and it was all because you were so nice to us.

I would love to mention the lovely couple that we had dinner with at the food court right before the fire works in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. I loved meeting you and hearing about how after being widowed you both decided to take the plunge and try again. I loved the stories about being a trucker in Saskatchewan and I love the fact that you didn't bring your passports, even though we were all looking at the U.S. After all your travels, it told me something eye opening. Good luck on your marriage and may you have many years of happiness.

While we're at it, I would like to thank the gentleman at the cigar shop who told us all about import rules, so that we knew how much we could spend on Cuban cigars for a souvenir for my husband. I learned a lot in your shop. I would like to shout out to the comic book guy for teaching me about Captian Kanook and having a great store. I would like to thank the people at Niagara Falls Go Karts for giving my kid that special pass to come back and ride some more for less money. Thank you to the wonderful girl at the Rock and Roll Wax Museum for being so funny and friendly and telling us all about how the place came about. Thank you girls at the Hornblower Tours for helping me figure out how passengers got to the bottom of the gorge to get on the boats. That was really bothering me. Thank you street performers for providing a lot of great music and magic for us to enjoy on our journey. We had a great time.

And, thank you great crowd of Canadians that we met in the line to go to America at Rainbow Bridge for telling us that it normally wasn't that bad. I think that we found out later that it really is that bad, because Blue Water Bridge was no better. But, thank you for trying to make us feel better. And thank you border guards for doing your job and protecting us, but to the guy at Blue Water Bridge, I really do live here.

Thank you to the folks of Frankenmuth, Michigan. Thank you to the staff of America's Best Inns for being so friendly and getting our room ready for us in a hurry even though you were having a terrible staffing crisis. We felt special and that was great. Thank you ladies at the Bavarian Inn for telling us the history of Little Bavaria and giving us the background on an amazing place. And Wally Bronner, may you rest in peace, your store is truly amazing. We loved meeting the people who keep the legend alive and we got some great deals too.

Thank you Dearborn, Michigan, and thank you everyone who helped give us directions to the Henry Ford. It's not easy to find. Thank you to the tour guide at the Rouge Factory that answered my million questions. Thank you to the staff at the old diner in the museum who told us all about it's history and made a great burger. Thank you to the ladies who helped us get some annoying people out of the way so that we could take our pictures in the car. And thank you to the gentleman who not only let us play around in the car, but told us all about how many times they take it apart as part of the experience in the museum. Thank you also in the Ann Arbor Motel 6 for helping us figure out the WiFi, fixing our fridge and helping us order our Domino's Pizza in it's hometown.

Thank you John Cologne for being you. Hell is one of those amazing places that you wish you could spend more time in, and it's all because of your vision, your sense of humor, and the drive you have glowing from within. It was a wonderful experience that we will never forget.

Thank you all that we met in Holland, Saugatuck, and Douglas, Michigan. Thank you kids that we met at the pool from Chicago and your grandparents. We enjoyed our evening with you and had a lot of fun. Thank you to the breakfast lady at the Comfort Inn for still making us breakfast even though we were late. Thank you to all the people at the Dune Schooners including our veteran tour guide, Scott. Thank you to Zoe, Nate and your family for having a fun afternoon with us at Oval Beach. I loved hearing the story of how Zoe was a miracle baby. It does the soul good to hear such tales.

And thank you Cleveland. Wow, what a town. We will be back. Thank you to the lovely couple at the hotel who helped us get around and made us feel like family. Thank you Indians for putting on a great game and thank you to whomever came up with Rock and Blast, because that was the best fire works show I ever saw. Thank you to the security guy, the bartender, and all the locals that we met along the way for making us understand why people like Anthony Bourdain and Drew Carey are so fond of your amazing city. Your town is a true original and truly beautiful as well.